Do Symptoms of Adult ADHD and Comorbid Disorders Have Impact on Health Related Quality of Life?

Background: With regard to adult ADHD until now only a few studies focus on the relation between ADHD, comorbid disorders and health related quality of life, which has been realized in the present study. Method: Participants in this study had been cross-classified in different groups due to fulfilling the criteria of being impaired or nonimpaired in terms of the assessment instruments used. Correlations, chi(2)-tests, predictive values and relative risks were calculated, representing the influence of adult ADHD on comorbid disorders. Results: While the absence of ADHD-symptoms is associated with a high probability for the absence of psychological impairments as well, a positive indication of ADHD-Symptoms leads to comorbid disorders in nearly half of the cases. Participants with ADHD had a higher risk for the development of psychological impairments than it was the case for the nonimpaired group. Discussion: ADHD increases the impact of comorbid disorders along with a decrease of health-related quality of life. Besides a general evidence for higher psychological impairments by presence of ADHD, the results of the study highlight the need for a comprehensive diagnostic with respect to therapeutic intervention to improve health-related quality of life.